The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."

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Monday, November 19, 2012

The Real Test of Obama’s Support

by Max Boot

I think it’s fair to say that most friends of
Israel were deeply unhappy with President Obama’s relations with the
Jewish state during his first term and deeply fearful of what the second
term would bring, now that he was freed of any need to court pro-Israel
votes in the future. His reaction to the new Gaza war has, therefore,
been as welcome as it is unexpected. He has been whole-hearted in his
support of Israel’s right to defend itself against missile attacks.
During a press conference today in Thailand he said: “Israel has every right to expect that it does not have missiles fired into its territory.”

That’s an excellent start and will help to reassure Israelis (as
Obama no doubt hopes) that he is a reliable ally—which in turn would
give him more credibility to forestall an Israeli air strike on the
Iranian nuclear program. The question is whether his support will hold
if Israel feels compelled to order a ground offensive to clear out the
Hamas infrastructure responsible for terrorizing much of southern
Israel—something that is notoriously difficult to accomplish from the
air.

Obama did go on to issue a veiled warning against a possible Israeli
ground offensive: “If that can be accomplished without a ramping up of
military activity in Gaza, that’s preferable. It’s not just preferable
for the people of Gaza. It’s also preferable for Israelis, because if
Israeli troops are in Gaza, they’re much more at risk of incurring
fatalities or being wounded.”

There is nothing in that statement that Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu could disagree with on its face—he too is very wary of sending
Israeli troops into Gaza, not only because of the risk of casualties on
both sides but also because of the diplomatic risks involved: A Gaza
incursion could lead Egypt’s new Muslim Brotherhood government to sever
or at least suspend ties with Israel.

But, much as Israel may be reluctant to move ground troops into Gaza,
it may be unavoidable unless Hamas can be convinced to stop firing
rockets in the meanwhile. If a Gaza ground incursion were to occur,
Israel will need the U.S. to run diplomatic interference at the United
Nations and elsewhere to buy time for its troops to finish the job. This
is always a difficult undertaking and even the George W. Bush
administration–led by the most pro-Israeli president in U.S. history—put
considerable pressure on Israel in 2006 to end its incursion into
Lebanon after a few weeks. The real test of President Obama’s attitudes
will come if there is indeed a ground war. But in the meantime, his
full-throated backing for Israel is certainly welcome.Max BootSource: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/11/18/the-real-test-of-obamas-support-israel-gaza/#more-811502Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.